Stay Sane Inside Insanity
by forgettingitsthere
Summary: Downton Psychiatric Hospital and Rehabilitation Center was a big, white building in the middle of nowhere, London. It contains approximately 25 bedrooms though it's under-populated and over-staffed (at least according to Violet Crawley the hospital's benefactor and board leader, oh, and she's also the hospital head Robert's mother).
1. Chapter 1

Downton Psychiatric Hospital and Rehabilitation Center was a big, white building in the middle of nowhere, London. It was a single building divided into three wings, a male, a female and the actually offices and conference rooms. It contains approximately 25 bedrooms though it's under-populated and over-staffed (at least according to Violet Crawley the hospital's benefactor and board leader, oh, and she's also the hospital head Robert's mother). Behind the hospital is the staff quarters, a tiny building that forces everyone to bunk with another staff member (except for the few staff members who have been there long enough to rightly demand their own rooms).

When a patient was first checking in they go through the main doors (which are supposed to open automatically but are so old they never do). They're greeted by receptionist Elsie Hughes, given numerous forms to fill out and are forced to confiscate any personal items they have with them until they've been approved by Dr. Carson. The main office has a big white desk and white walls with a couple of motivational posters hung behind the desk by Elsie to keep her spirits up more than anything. The patient would have to wait up to an hour for Robert to come and greet them after he finished going over their papers and approving them for entry. Robert would give them the welcome spiel then one of the wards, Thomas or William, would come to show them to their room, generally one of the interns, Jimmy or Alfred, would accompany them to 'learn the ropes' so to speak. Elsie personally always felt bad for those who had Thomas as their ward because he wasn't nearly as friendly as William and if Jimmy was around both boys seemed rather...distracted.

When a patient arrived in their bedroom their ward gave them a quick rundown of the hospitals schedule, when meals were served, when group and private therapy sessions were held and so on. This was followed by the rules of the hospital then each patient was given to five sets of hospital robes and two pairs of laceless shoes. The bedrooms themselves are quite small with nothing in them but a dresser for the patients clothes and a small single bed with two thin pillows and an itchy quilt. The patients are then given a moment to change into their robes and then they were to follow the ward to meet the nurses and doctors. Generally Dr. Sybil and Nurse Isobel are the keenest to meet new patients whereas Dr. Carson (who refuses to adapt to the hospitals new policy of letting patients refer to him by his first name) is less friendly but instead intimidating. Patients are also always hesitant to meet Mrs. Cora Crawley the head nurse and Robert's wife because she seemed both powerful and cold upon first look but in reality has a passion for the hospital that knew no bounds.

Afterwards patients are lead to the common area and the wards are supposed to introduce them to their fellow patients but it rarely happens due to the awkward and antisocial nature of everyone involved. Occasionally new patients take this initiative upon themselves but it generally results in failure.

This process was exactly what happened to Matthew when he first arrived at Downton. And the best part: he was stuck with Thomas and Jimmy as his 'guides'.

**  
Sybil checked herself over in the tiny mirror in her office, she had just finished a session with Tom and was a little... disoriented, to say the least. She smoothed her hair out and gave herself a smile. It was time for the daily group therapy session and she was introducing a new member which was always an interesting experience. She gave herself one last quick look in the mirror and headed to conference room A.

When she arrived she saw the two interns setting up a circle of chairs, "Thank you, boys." She said cheerily, Sybil knew she had to maintain a good relationship with not only the patients but also the staff.

"Of course, Dr. Sybil," Alfred replied while Jimmy gave a tight-lipped smile.

"How are things going with Ivy?" Sybil asked aware of Alfred's not so subtle crush on the assistant cook, she had always been a very observant person and was generally aware of the gossip around the hospital (not that she listened to that dribble. Well, maybe once in awhile over coffee with Cora...). When Jimmy started snickering at Alfred's embarrassment Sybil was quick to remark with slight snark, "And how is Thomas, Jimmy?"

That got the intern to stop laughing, though Sybil could see a trace of a smile on the blonde man's lips clearly thinking of some past incident. Before Sybil could say anything the first patient walked in. It was Anna a lovely young woman with severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, "Hello, Dr. Sybil."

"Hi, Anna, how are you today? I haven't seen you since Monday," Sybil remarked.

"I'm lovely, I spent the day playing cards with Mr. Bates," Anna remarked. "I had to leave when he played by different rules than I but, he is a very nice gentleman."

"That's excellent, Anna," Sybil said. "Maybe you'll discuss that during today's session."

Just then Gwen filed in along with Ethel, Sybil hoped that the two young women were walking together but from Gwen's body language Sybil knew this was not the case the poor girl had an anxiety disorder causing her to be incredibly quiet and antisocial, even Sybil had only seen the girl truly be herself a mere handful of times. Ethel was a different case she was incredibly loud and extroverted but had also battled both drug and sex addiction and was making very slow progress as she generally preferred to talk about everything and everyone but her own problems.

Gwen smiled at Sybil as she walked in but Ethel said nothing instead choosing to tell Anna (and the interns for that matter) a particularly raunchy tale involving instant noodles and a donkey she rented for ten thousand yen.

The new patient, Matthew, came in next, Sybil wasn't entirely sure what to make of the young man, he seemed pleasant enough, apparently he had been sent to the hospital for a work related breakdown. He smiled politely at Sybil and took a seat next to Gwen who tensed at the new presence.

Mary walked in next head held high as if she owned the place, the woman was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had dramatic mood swings and poor social skills at times where at other times she was completely composed, friendly even. This seemed to be the latter until Mary noticed that someone was sitting in her usual seat.

"You're going to have to move," Mary told Matthew who in turn looked rather confused.

"And why is that?" Matthew enquired.

"You're in my seat," Superiority dripped from Mary's tone it was as if she knew the new patient would move for her.

"I didn't realize seats were assigned," Matthew said.

Mary had prepared a scathing remark when Sybil jumped in, "There isn't assigned seating, however you will find most patients have seats they prefer to sit in, I do hate to ask but is there anyway you could change seats, Matthew?"

"Of course," Matthew said amiably.

"I see she's getting her way again," O'Brien declared walking in, the middle-aged woman had always preferred to go by her surname and was quick to stir the pot. She had had a massive nervous breakdown after her brother's suicide and since arriving at Downton hospital she always seemed quite bitter.

"That's enough Ms. O'Brien," Sybil sighed though there was no real authority in it, just a tone that said this happened too often, much too often. O'Brien rolled her eyes but said nothing in response.

Edith was the next to arrive, the girl suffered from severe depression and had very low self-esteem, she had come to Downton after it was discovered she had been self-harming. She came into the room without saying a word and Sybil was sure this was because she felt no one wanted to hear what she had to say.

"Hi, Edith, how are you today?" Sybil chirped. Edith simply shrugged in response and took a seat as far away from other people as possible.

Mr. Bates hobbled in next, the man had acquired a limp from his time at war along with a nasty case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that he was quite secretive about. Sybil never did push the man though and was very happy to see he was sitting next to Anna again.

Finally Tom walked in, and Sybil's heart fluttered involuntarily in her chest. She took a deep breath and gave the man a winning smile. He smiled back and Sybil thought she saw him wink at her but she chose to ignore that. Tom was a complex man with both bipolar disorder and deeply rooted anger issues (only made worse by his bipolar disorder) that both he and Sybil were trying to figure out.

The interns filed out once the room was all set up, both still looked a little embarrassed from Sybil's earlier remarks. Sybil couldn't help but be proud of that as both boys really needed to get their acts together romantically, admittedly Sybil had no idea what was going on in Jimmy's relationship with Thomas but she knew there was an act to get together. She had learned over time that there always was.

Sybil smiled slightly to herself as she took her own seat, "Alright, I guess we should get started! How is everyone today?" She was greeted with silence and blinking eyes, "Right, well I'm good, now before we begin we have a new person joining our little group. Could everyone say a big hello to Matthew." Matthew was greeted by the same silence and blinking that Sybil received. "Okay, so, Matthew why don't you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?"

"Um, alright, well, I'm Matthew," The man began.

"Obviously," Mary muttered under her breath.

"Mary," Sybil chided. "Carry on Matthew."

"I live in London, or I, uh, I used to live in London, where I was a lawyer," Matthew said. "I'm currently on sabbatical due to...complications."

"You can say you're mad," Mary remarked. "We all are."

"Mary! Do not use language like that!" Sybil snapped. "Is there anything else you'd like to say Matthew?"

"No, thank you," Matthew said clearly a little on edge after Mary's comments.

"Right, then, shall we begin?"

**  
William wandered down to the hospital kitchens, dinner wasn't for another half hour but he thought he would say 'hi' to the kitchen staff, Mrs. Patmore was very nice, so was Ivy and Daisy was nice, Daisy was very nice... William shook his head trying to clear his minds of such nonsense, why would a girl like her like a boy like him?

William swung open the kitchen doors, the cafeteria was abandoned but he could hear the hustle and bustle in the kitchens. "Smells lovely!" He called even though the only thing he could smell were lima beans which were far from his favorite. "How are you ladies coming along?"

The cafeteria was a long room with one, long, rectangular table. Other than the table there was a bar where food was served and behind that was a view into the kitchens where Mrs. Patmore, her assistant cooks, Daisy and Ivy, and her three helpers who seemed only talk to each other.

"We were lovely until a certain ward came down to flirt with my staff," Mrs. Patmore snarked. "I have to stop hiring the pretty ones..."

William, embarrassed, apologized, "Sorry, Mrs. Patmore."

"It's alright, you're certainly not as persistent as Alfred." Mrs. Patmore chuckled and returned to the kitchen.

William took a seat at the long table to patiently wait for other staff to arrive, and by 'other staff' he meant Daisy.

**  
"I had a lovely day," Anna said before pausing to ritually tap her fingers precisely 103 times, Sybil had observed that the young woman seemed to do this every 15 minutes to calm herself. Sybil did wonder what happened if she was sleeping but decided not to laugh. "Mr. Bates and I played cards and tomorrow I plan to teach him the proper way to play Rummy, not the way he plays which isn't proper at all."

"And why is it not okay to play by Mr. Bates rules?" Sybil inquired, she found Anna was one of the most willing to share when it came to the group sessions and Sybil always hoped it would prompt others to join in, sadly it did not.

"Because I like my rules, I'm used to my rules." Anna said matter-of-factly. "And Mr. Bates rules were wrong."

**  
"Hello, Mrs. Hughes, how are you today?" Dr. Carson asked the tired looking secretary.

"I'm fine, though there is a stern doctor around here who refuses to call me by first name," She remarked. "How are you, Dr. Carson, or should I say Charles."

Dr. Carson looked abashed, "Yes, sorry, Elsie." Dr. Carson was in charge of any physical medical conditions the patients may acquire along with administering the bi-weekly blood test patients were required to have.

"It's quite alright, Charles, now why don't you go get dinner?" Elsie suggested biting back a chuckle. "And bring me a plate when you have a moment."

**  
"I just find it unfortunate I have to spend so much time with people I don't really like, no offence to you all," Mary announced. "Admittedly I like some of you, just not many."

"I know exactly how you feel," Ethel confided in the same tone she used when gossiping.

"That is enough, ladies," Sybil said. Mary had little tangents like that from time to time and it left most people rather uncomfortable and down on themselves. "You cannot say things about other people like that. How would you feel if they said that about you?"

"I wouldn't really care, it's not as if their opinions mattered," Mary said flippantly.

**  
Thomas took a long inhale of his cigarette and Jimmy did everything in his power not to stare. It wasn't his fault though Thomas was absolutely mesmerizing with the repetitive nature of his smoking. The pair were in the designated staff smoking area that was behind the staff quarters, it wasn't the nicest place, quite dirty but it was private so Jimmy didn't exactly complain. He had admitted to himself he had some sort of feelings for Thomas but he wasn't sure what they were or what he planned to do with them. Jimmy certainly didn't expect to become involved in some sort of torrid love affair he was there to work, to eventually become a ward and then finally a doctor. But, then again he didn't really expect he'd meet anyone he'd actually like, not only romantically but just in general but it turns out he'd found a multitude of people who were actually quite likable.

"It's ridiculous, is all, I've been here years now and I'm still a ward, I'm as qualified as anyone to be a doctor," Thomas complained for the umpteenth time. Jimmy, and everyone else at Downton for that matter, were well aware of Thomas' ambition to be a doctor and Jimmy was generally the one who had to hear most of Thomas' complaining not that he minded entirely if he had an excuse to carry on a relationship of sorts with the man.

"Yes, yes, but until someone quits it doesn't seem you're going to get the job," Jimmy said bluntly. "And besides I don't want to be stuck constantly accompanying William..."

"That would be a shame," Thomas said.

"I like to think so," Jimmy said, just because he couldn't be in a proper relationship with Thomas doesn't mean he couldn't do other things, it was just talking right?

"Well, let's get to dinner," Thomas said rather abruptly as he stubbed out his cigarette. Jimmy felt this happened a lot, he and Thomas would talk and just when something could even possibly happen Thomas retreated. Apparently he didn't want a relationship either.

**  
"So Gwen, do you have anything you'd like to share?" Sybil asked. The redhead vigorously shook her head, she never did want to say anything. "What about you Edith?" Edith shook her head too and went back to looking out the window clearly uninterested in the rest of the group. "Right."

**  
Alfred walked into the cafeteria only to see a multitude of people had arrived before him. He took a seat next to William, "Hello."

"Hi, Alfred," William greeted looking up from the paper he was reading. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Alfred said looking past William to get a glimpse into the kitchen. "Is Ivy still cooking?"

"I think so, yes," William answered.

"Oh," Alfred looked downtrodden. "I wonder when she'll be done..."

"Probably once dinner is served," William said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And it kind of was given that's when Ivy got done each night.

"Right," Alfred replied.

**  
"So, Tom, how was your day?" Sybil inquired.

"It was good, I read a book, talked to a few people and of course you and I had our appointment," Tom said giving her a slightly lascivious smile.

Sybil managed to hide the blush that threatened to creep onto her face, "Lovely, so Mr. Bates..."

**  
"What do you mean there's no money?" Robert asked his mother. Him, Violet and Cora were all in Robert's office, a relatively large room covered in expensive paintings and furniture, Robert did this more to get away from all the white than anything else.

"There's no money, what else could I mean," Violet asked. "I am always telling you this place is over-staffed."

"Well what am I supposed to do? I can't very well fire the lot," Robert responded temper starting to flare.

"All I know is you must figure something out and soon," Violet declared heading to the door. "We'll discuss this in the morning."

The moment his mother left Robert turned to Cora, "Lord, whatever will I do?"

"Don't worry, sweetheart, we'll figure it out," Cora gave him a reassuring rub on the back. "Together."

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Robert smiled kissing Cora.

**  
"I do believe that concludes this evening's session," Sybil decided. "I'll see you all tomorrow for the next session and I'll see some of you one-on-one. Now, go enjoy a little free time before bed."

The patients filed out of the room, however Tom lingered, "Hello, Tom, can I help you?"

"You know you don't have to talk like that when everyone's gone," Tom said sliding his arms around her shoulders.

"Tom, you can't do that," Sybil said. She liked Tom, she liked him a lot actually but this was wrong, he was her patient!

"You were fine earlier," Tom said.

"Tom, this should stop, what if somebody sees?"

"It's part of the fun, darling," Tom said as he pulled her into a passionate kiss. "See? Fun." Tom walked out of the conference room after that but not before he gave her a cheeky wink.

"Oh, wow," Sybil muttered to herself as she went to stack the chairs.

**  
Staff dinner was always a raucous affair, Sybil always arrived about half way through because she had her group therapy sessions to head, and every time she walked in the sound of chatter immediately washed over her. She grabbed the plate that was sitting on the kitchen bar all prepared for her (something Mrs. Patmore was kind enough to do for her once the therapy sessions started coinciding with dinner). She took her seat on the end of the table next to Cora.

"Hello, Sybil, how are you, dear?" The older woman greeted. Cora had become something of a mother figure since Sybil had started working at the hospital, though she was like that for quite a few members of the staff (particularly the younger ones) and Sybil was hardly surprised, Cora was both nurturing and strict when necessary.

"I'm lovely, thank you, how are you?" Sybil asked back as she took a bite into her meatloaf.

"I'm alright, I am a little tired though," Cora replied.

"Any reason why?"

"Oh, just hospital business as usual," Cora said wiping her mouth with her napkin lightly. "It can be quite a bit of work at times."

"I can only imagine," Sybil said with a look of empathy on her face. "It makes my job seem so easy."

"Yes, well, I guess I knew what I was signing up for..." Sybil did hate to see Cora so downtrodden, but she was worried if she said something it may sound as if she was treating Cora as a patient and not a co-worker. That always seemed to be a problem when people found out Sybil's profession.

"I'm sure things will get better, they always do," Sybil decided to take the optimistic root this time hoping this would cheer Cora up.

"I can only hope so, dear." Cora said moving to stand up. "Well, I must be going, if I don't see you later have a good night."

"You too, Cora," Sybil called.

**  
Mrs. Patmore prided herself on only a few things in life her cooking, her morals, her intelligence and her powers of observation. So, of course, she was quick to notice the complicated romantic relationships forming among the younger staff (she also thought she was something between Elsie and Dr. Carson but decided not to go near that whole thing).

It was easy enough to tell Alfred liked Ivy, everyone knew that (including Ivy), because he was constantly lingering in the kitchens flirting with her. William was the same with Daisy just much less incessant as he would leave when asked to and took a more friendly approach to his flirting (though Mrs. Patmore had noticed this failed to work for him). Daisy didn't seem to really like anyone but still desperately wanted someone to like her (she was quite oblivious to poor William, poor, friendly William.) and Ivy seemingly had developed a crush on Jimmy who may like Thomas but also might just like himself.

Honestly, it hurt Mrs. Patmore's head at times trying to figure it all out. Maybe she should make a chart...

**  
The patients all gathered in the common room, a big circular room that had four little, square tables that could each seat around six. The room supplied patients with a bookshelf full of donated books (Nurse Isobel also made an effort to buy new books every few years), a dozen packs of cards (that Anna made an effort to keep organized), board games, newspapers and a few puzzles.

Mary was sitting on the couch when she spied new patient Matthew out of the corner of her eye and decided to go have a chat with him, "Hello, I'm Mary, but you probably knew that."

"I'm Matthew," He greeted putting down his novel. "Nice to meet you."

"Of course it is," Mary said. "So, why are you here? What exactly happened?"

"I don't think that's any of your business," Matthew said.

"That bad, eh?" Mary said. "I'll tell you why I'm here. I'm apparently 'bipolar' and my parents decided to check me in."

"I see, why are you telling me this?"

"Because, I told you my story now it's only fair I hear yours."

"I don't think so," Matthew picked his novel back up and soon his attention was anywhere but with Mary.

Shortly after her rather unpleasant interaction with Matthew, Mary and the rest of the woman were accompanied by Nurse Isobel to their rooms while William took the men.

It had been a unique day for everyone, but it seemed every day was quite unique.

_Note: I have been working on this forever! I do hope you liked it! It is unbetaed so any mistakes are my own. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Note: There are a lot of cuss words and politically incorrect terms regarding mental health in this chapter and there will be in all following chapters, I imagine so please be aware of that._

Violet Crawley made her way into Downton Hospital around 9 o'clock the next morning, she gave Mrs. Hughes a smile and a polite 'good morning'. One of the wards (or maybe interns...?) greeted her as she made her way to Robert's office and she gave them a slight nod but didn't reply as she didn't know who it actually was, she generally tried not to bother with all of those frivolous niceties like learning every single employees names, she just bothered with the employees she liked.

She continued down the long hall to Robert's office, within the hall was Dr. Carson and Dr. Sybil's offices along with the hospital's 3 conference rooms. All the doors in the white hall were wooden and brown, none had windows and personally the hallway itself made Violet feel quite trapped.

Thankfully, she got to the end of the hallway. Just as she was about to walk she overheard Cora and Robert chatting.

"I just want her to get here already," Robert confessed.

"I know, sweetheart, I know."

"I hate these money conversations, we were always well off before, why must things change?"

"Oh, Robert, you'll be fine. It's only your mother."

This was the point Violet chose to enter the room (she always did love a dramatic entrance), "Yes, don't worry Robert, it's only Mother." The couple both looked at her immediately as if this were a television show. "Good morning, you two."

**  
"God, I wish I had some coffee," Ethel moaned. "It's completely unfair they take it away from us. I'd even settle for tea, but no, Dr. Carson said we can't have any."

"It's because it will negatively affect your medication," Anna said taking a sip of her orange juice.

It was breakfast time for the patients and today they were having porridge. Mrs. Patmore made that a lot though sometimes she made scrambled eggs or even bacon if she was in a particularly good mood or if she wanted to make things hard for Daisy and Ivy (the latter happens about twice a month, three times if she's feeling vindictive).

"Well not having coffee is negatively affecting my attitude," Ethel remarked.

"I think we are all well aware of that," O'Brien muttered.

Ethel scoffed but she took a sip of her juice nonetheless.

**  
"So, Gwen, how are you today?"

"I'm okay," Gwen replied fidgeting in her leather arm chair. Dr. Sybil was facing her in a blue swivel chair with a clipboard in hand. 'How are you?"

"I'm great, thank you for asking," Dr. Sybil replied, she was always very friendly and bright when Gwen had her appointments, always trying to get her to open up but it didn't work that often. "So, it says here Dr. Carson both increased your dosage of Celexa and started you on Ativan."

"Yes," Gwen said with a nod hoping this was not a bad thing.

"Do you know why that is?"

"He said your notes lead him to believe I was not making enough progress in the getting better process so he decided to increase the amount of medication I take," Gwen answered doing her best to recite what Dr. Carson had told her.

"I see, and how do you feel about the increase in your medication?" Dr. Sybil asked.

"I don't know, I don't know much about medication," Gwen said.

Dr. Sybil laughed for some inexplicable reason, "Sometimes I wish I was the same way." This kind of confused Gwen because she didn't understand why Dr. Sybil continued to be a doctor if she didn't want to know about medication but Gwen decided that Dr. Sybil was odd,like most doctors Gwen had met, so she just smiled.

**  
Daisy sat down at the cafeteria table, she had at least an hour before she needed to start prepping for the patients lunch so she decided to go see who their was to talk too as Mrs. Patmore was busy running an errand for Mrs. Hughes. William and Jimmy sat at the table with her, William staring into space and Jimmy reading a book.

"Good morning," she greeted, William looked up and immediately a goofy grin appeared on his face.

"Good morning, Daisy," He greeted back. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, I do hate waiting between meals, I never have anything to do."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here to entertain you," William replied.

Daisy giggled, "So, what's the rest of the staff doing?"

"Dr. Sybil has appointments all morning, Dr. Carson never comes in here unless he has too, Mrs. Hughes always has to stay at her desk, Nurse Isobel mentioned something about a shipment of books, I'm not sure what Ivy's up to and Thomas and Alfred are giving out the patients medication." If William and Daisy were more observant they would have seen Jimmy scowl (in what seemed to be envy) at the last part of William's answer but they aren't so they didn't.

"You're really good at keeping track of people, William," Daisy said looking impressed.

"Why thank you, Daisy," William said, ever-present goofy smile looking even brighter.

Behind his book Jimmy didn't even bother to suppress an eyeroll.

**  
"Thanks," Mary said taking her dose of Clozapine from the red headed intern. When he didn't leave right away she took the hint and dry swallowed her two pills, even opening her mouth to prove she had taken them. "Happy?" The intern just walked off in Branson's direction and Mary smiled smugly to herself.

"Terrorizing interns now? Jeez, you must be really bored," Branson commented behind his book.

"Oh, shut it, I was just proving I was trustworthy," Mary replied with a certain faked innocence.

"You were taking advantage of the fact you terrify the poor lad," Branson said mirroring Mary's tone.

"He's in a mental hospital! He should be prepared to be terrified. I mean, honestly, we're all psychos here, you have to be tougher than that!" Mary said getting a little wound up.

"You're so sensitive to your fellow patients, eh?" Branson retorted perfectly calm.

Mary huffed in response and wondered why she even put up with the Irish man. It wasn't like there was any good reason too. Her bad spirits worsened when she thought she heard Matthew laughing at her from behind his newspaper.

**  
"Good morning, Edith," Dr. Sybil greeted ushering Edith into her office. "How are you, today?"

"I'm fine," Edith answered. "What have you been doing since our last session?" Dr. Sybil asked.

Edith shrugged, "Nothing."

"Nothing at all?" Dr. Sybil pryed. "You didn't talk to anyone? Or read a book? You didn't even sleep?"

Edith rolled her eyes, Dr. Sybil did this a lot, always trying to joke around and be Edith's friend, it was ridiculous you couldn't maintain a proper relationship with your therapist so why even bother trying? "Yes, I slept and I read. No, I didn't talk to anyone unless absolutely necessary."

"And why is that?"

Edith sighed, "Isn't it your job to figure it out?"

"We're actually trying to figure it out together."

"Sounds fun," Edith muttered.

**  
"Do you have any 2s?" Bates asked Anna, they had figured out the only card game they both played by the exact same rules was Go Fish and so the pair was currently in the progress of their fifteenth round.

"Go fish," Anna replied smiling a little smugly as Bates picked up a card. "Do you have any 5s?"

"I do indeed," John said handing over his 5.

"Do you have any Kings?"

"I do."

"Oh wow," Anna smiled. "Do you have any 8s?"

"Yes."

Ethel moaned into her book, "Would you two just fuck already? I can't take the damn sexual tension."

Anna gasped at the language and Isobel was quick to turn away from the bookshelf she was stocking, "Ethel, language."

"Sorry, Nurse Isobel," Ethel said monotonously, it seemed as though this was a phrase she was very used to saying."Just don't do it again," Nurse Isobel reprimanded.

"Oh but she will," mused O'Brien.

**  
"Robert, the fact of the matter is you either need to fire a lot of people or gather some new patients quickly. We can only go so far with the funding we're given if we don't get enough people," Violet said bluntly.

"Well who am I supposed to fire?" Robert asked running a hand through his hair.

"What about the interns? It's not as if you can't just give their jobs to the wards, or what about some of the kitchen staff? Or that Nurse Isobel, Cora can just take her duties, besides, I never did care for her..." Violet suggested.

"Mother!" Robert cried aghast. "I will not fire someone just because you don't care for them!"

"Well, you must fire someone if the rate we're getting patients doesn't increase soon," Violet reiterated. "So, if you don't make the decision I will." And with that Violet turned on her heel and walked out the door.

**  
Matthew observed the common area and those who occupied it. It was an odd place. Downton was an odd place. Matthew figured that was to be expected though given the kind of place it was.

Matthew still couldn't bring himself to call Downton what it was. A psychiatric hospital and rehab. He couldn't accept he was in a psychiatric hospital. A mental hospital. A crazy house. A fucking crazy house. A motherfucking crazy house. A goddamn motherfucking crazy house.

Crazy.

He was crazy. He was fucking crazy. You had to be fucking kidding him. For fucks sake! After all the shit he's been through and now he's fucking crazy. Jesus Christ.

Not to mention the people he was here with, Matthew was generally a nice person in fact before he started working at Collins & Collins Law Firm he was fine, he was peachy in fact. He was fucking peachy until those assholes came into his life. They ruined that though, with their pressure and their overworking him and their condescending attitudes and their ugly, stupid faces.

It really did make Matthew's blood boil.

Now, back to the people he was staying with. They all fucking sucked.

Alright, that wasn't true but still, they weren't the best bunch. That was for sure.

First of all they were more batshit crazy than he was. Not to mention half of them were kind of assholes. The other half could be quite pleasant but the asshole half...

First of all there was... Okay so maybe he didn't have any good examples but he didn't have to like the people here. So he wouldn't.

And okay, maybe some of them were quite nice, Anna always offered him a kind smile and Mr. Bates was friendly and Tom actually seemed like someone he'd be friends with outside of this place. But what about the staff? Were they even qualified? It certainly didn't seem like it. Well, except Mrs. Hughes she was quite nice... and Nurse Isobel actually seemed quite motherly. Oh and Dr. Sybil was lovely and Dr. Carson was clearly very qualified. The kitchen team must have been good as the food was always good. And Matthew didn't really have a problem with the wards or interns (he had just decided to repress the memories of his tour). And Nurse Cora and Robert seemed nice, though they didn't really talk to him.

But what about... Mary! There, there's a problem. Mary. Goddamn Mary. With her condescending attitude, and her mood swings, and her pretty face, and her perfect eyebrows (have you seen them, they're fantastic). There, Matthew had found a problem. Mary. She was ruining everything. Plain and simple. He'd just have to avoid her then.

If she'd actually let him...

**  
A single chocolate chip muffin was planted before Elsie Hughes as she typed. She looked up and there was a bashful looking Dr. Carson in front of her. "What's this? Is it my birthday and I've simply forgotten?"

"No, no, I just noticed you skipped breakfast," Carson answered. "And, one should never do that so I thought I would bring you something."

"Well, you are the doctor, Charles," Elsie replied biting into the moist muffin. "Thank you, it's very good."

"Of course, Mrs. Hugh- I mean Elsie," Dr. Carson said retreating back to his office.

**  
Sybil shut the door behind Ethel and collapsed into her chair (God, she loved her chair, it was so comfortable). That woman was always quite the experience. To say the least. Not to mention before that she had an appointment with O'Brien which never did anything to help her self-esteem (she probably shouldn't let a patient affect her like that, but O'Brien was really good at insulting people and in the kind of way you can't actually say anything about her, especially when you're her doctor).

She heard a knock at her door, "Come in." Normally she would answer the door herself but she knew it wasn't a patient and, honestly, at this point she couldn't be bothered.

Cora entered her office with a plate of something delicious smelling in her hands, "I figured you'd want this, I know how much you love Mrs. Patmore's scotch pies. Not that I can blame you, I almost ate this on the way to your office and I saw Mrs. Hughes eyeing it as I walked by."

Sybil smiled and took the plate happily from Cora, "Thank you so much, it has been such a busy morning. Apparently all my appointments had to be back to back."

"That's always the way it goes, isn't it? Do you have anymore appointments, then?"

"Just one, Tom Branson." Sybil answered trying to keep her tone as neutral as possible.

"Well, that's not too bad, I've always liked Branson."

Sybil swallowed, "Yes, me too."

"Well, I'll leave you to your pie, darling," Cora said exiting Sybil's office.

Sybil ran a hand through her hair, she had forgotten she had an appointment with Tom today. Now she was feeling both excited and guilty, a feeling that generally came with seeing Tom.

She, of course, knew that it was not okay to be in a romantic relationship with a patient. Obviously. But it was more complicated than that (wasn't it always?).

It had all started about three months ago when Tom first arrived at Downton. Sybil had been working there about two years (six months as an intern, six months as a nurse and a year as a proper doctor).

Unlike most prior patients Sybil had been intrigued by Tom and so she did some research, more than was strictly necessary. She learned about where he grew up, his family, what he did before he came to Downton and, most importantly, why he was at Downton.

She officially met Tom at his first group session, she of course had seen him around the hospital and read his file at least a dozen times but had never properly spoken to him. She introduced herself right away, shaking his hand rigidly in a way she hoped conveyed 'I haven't been reading about you all day'. "Hello, I'm Dr. Sybil, I'll be leading the group therapy sessions. I'll also be your psychiatrist during your stay at Downton."

"Tom," was all he said in reply, but he had smiled at her just slightly which was unexpected.

After that Tom began meeting with Sybil twice a week as all patients were required to, as the sessions went on Sybil and Tom started to get to know each other, she learned he was quite interested in politics, held similar morals to her own and could be quite funny at times. Soon when she looked at her schedule she would see Tom's name pop-up three or four times a week, there were times when he would make a last minute appointment at the end of the day for no apparent reason.

Sybil would like to go on the record and say he kissed her first. Yes, she kissed back. But, but, she did not initiate anything (well not really). They had been finishing up their session when Tom swept her into her kiss, romantic movie style. She was shocked at first but it admittedly took her a very short amount of time to kiss back, a lot shorter than she's proud of. The kiss itself was all passion and surprise. It was rushed and messy and rather perfect and part of Sybil wished it would last forever (the more rational side of her brain knew it had to stop, however, she tended to tune that side of her brain out whenever she needed it most).

When she did pull away the first thing she said was, "Wow." The second was, "You probably shouldn't have done that."

"So, you didn't like it?" Was what he asked back, a cheeky grin threatening to show on his face.

"Well, I, um, I didn't say that," As the realization of what just happened, and more importantly how she felt about it, set in Sybil got exceedingly more frustrated.

'So, you did like it?"

"I didn't say that either."

Apparently this was all Tom needed to bring her into another kiss. This one was much more tender and a lot shorter.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Doctor."

And with that he was gone leaving a very flustered Sybil in his wake.

"Good, God, what did I just do?"

The whole affair continued on, well until now. Tom would schedule the last appointment of the day a few times a week they would talk for awhile but it always lead to... other things. Of course she had never had proper sex with him! But that didn't mean there hadn't been other things, things she would never describe to anyone.

Sybil knew it had to end. She knew it, she really did. But she didn't want it to. Was that bad? It was really bad, wasn't it?

It's just, she was kind of, just a little bit, in love with Tom.

She just couldn't help it, in any other circumstance they would be allowed to be together, but of course this was the one circumstance where it wasn't the case.

Sybil considered ending it everyday she saw Tom but she never did, she never could. Her train of thought was interrupted when she heard a knock on the door. She sighed and dragged herself out of her chair and there was Tom at the door.

"Hello, darling," He greeted entering her office with ease. "How are you today?"

She smiled and shut the door behind her. She would end it another day.

Probably.

**  
Robert had always been adamant that the wards and nurses (and by extension the interns) try to get involved during the free time between lunch and dinner. Sometimes they would have icebreaker games or play bingo, maybe watch a movie. Today was not one of those days. No, today was the day they played board games.

That was the reason Thomas was stuck playing Cluedo with Ethel, O'Brien, Bates, Anna and Jimmy. At least he got to be Mr. Green.

"I suggest it was Mrs. Peacock, in the library with the revolver," Anna said brightly moving Ms. O'Brien's piece into the library.

"I can disprove it," Jimmy announced with forced enthusiasm, he flashed Anna a card and she dutifully started making check marks on her 'detective's sheet'. "Alright, well, I'll stay in the hall and I'm going to suggest Mr. Green, with the pipe in the hall." He moved Thomas's piece over to the hall with a rather smug look on his face as if he had just foiled all of Thomas's big Cluedo winning plans.

"I can disprove it," Ethel said not even bothering to hide her boredom. She rolled and moved a few spaces before plopping the dice in front of O'Brien who also rolled and seemed to purposely avoid going into any rooms.

Bates went next and he actually seemed to be enjoying this experience, though Thomas suspected this was due to the fact Anna was playing. Thomas envied that just a little, to still be excited about something as remedial as this. Though, Bates hadn't been at Downton near as long as Thomas. Thomas envied that too.

"Mr. Green with the candlestick in the Lounge," Bates decided.

"Sounds like people think you might be the murderer, Thomas," Jimmy said. "I wonder what that says about you."

"It says I have bad taste in Cluedo characters," Thomas replied. "I don't think it says I'm planning an elaborate murder dinner party."

"Are you sure? I think it really reveals your inner murderer, don't you?" Jimmy smiled, or rather smirked. "Oh, and I can disprove your suggestion, luckily for Mr. Barrow."

"Yes, I won't be charged for murder anytime soon, thank you ever so much Jimmy."

Ethel sighed loudly, "Oh good God, just fuck. Just do it. Because I am done watching what I can only assume is flirting while talking about murder."

"You've already done that, line today," Bates noted patting a shocked looking Anna on the back.

"They're worse than you two, and that says something because I thought you two were the worst! But, no, nothing is worse than that. Plus, these two can do something about it, they're allowed too and yet they don't."

"I'd say that's it for Cluedo then."

**  
Mary chuckled a little bit, Ethel's little outbursts were always entertaining and there was always a hint of truth in them too, Mary had noticed that the ward, Thomas was his name, Mary thought, and the cute, blonde, ambiguously gay intern had been laying it on rather thick when it came to their attempts at flirting.

Mary never would have pointed anything out, and if she did it would have been a lot subtler than that but Mary can appreciate the sentiment. If Mary had cared enough she would have gotten involved ages ago but she didn't so she hadn't.

No, Mary's concern at the moment lied with that bloody Matthew. He just waltzed in here and seemed to fit right in, not to mention it doesn't seem like he even really has a problem. Not a proper one at least. So, he had some big work related breakdown? How bad could it really be? It's not as if he told anyone about it so Mary figured she would never know. Unless she could force it out of him...

No, that probably wouldn't work it wasn't as if he had talked to her much when she had tried the first time. She probably just shouldn't bother with him but Mary couldn't help but be curious. Some new guy comes in all secrets and smiles it's intriguing.

He must be hiding something. He must be. Why else would he be the way he is? Mary was determined to find out more about him now.

**  
Ivy, because she liked a little cliche in her life, was whistling while she worked. She was prepping for the patients dinner with Daisy. Of course Daisy wasn't talking to her like usual. Ivy never did understand why Daisy seemed to despise her but she was at a point where she just accepted it.

Ivy quite liked working at Downton, she never expected to be working at a place like it but she enjoyed it nonetheless. The people were nice, the hours were good and she had a place to stay. Really she had nothing to complain about and assumed there was no reason why someone might complain about her.

Which is why she was surprised when she heard Mrs. Patmore call, "Ivy, Mr. Crawley would like to speak with you!"

Ivy cleaned up her work station, gave her hands a wash and scurried out of the kitchen to see her boss, Robert Crawley, standing there in all his intimidating glory. "Ah, excellent, Ivy, I was hoping you and I could have a quick chat."

"Of course," Ivy said. Robert turned around to walk to his office just in time for him to miss seeing Ivy seemingly pray for a brief moment.

Ivy had seen Robert's office once before for her job interview but at the time she was so nervous that she hadn't really taken in her surroundings. Getting a good look at it now was incredible. It was so extravagant and almost Victorian looking. Everything was so elegant and put together and it made Ivy feel a little dumbstruck.

"Sit, please," Robert said gesturing to the chair in front of his desk as he took a seat. Ivy obliged not wanting to do something wrong. "How are you, Ivy?"

"I'm good, Mr. Crawley. How are you?" Ivy said, looking down as if there was something fascinating on her shoes.

"I'm good thank you," Robert replied with a rather forced smile but he was definitely trying to be friendly. "Though, you can call me Robert if you like."

"Oh, that's okay, Mr. Crawley."

"Alright, well, Ivy, I just want to say you are by no means in trouble I just wanted to check in with you and see how you're doing. I plan on doing this with everyone, you're just the lucky girl who gets to go first." Robert drummed his fingers on his desk like a nervous twitch.

Ivy nodded, "Alright, Mr. Crawley."

"So, how are things here at Downton?"

"They're good, I like it here a lot."

"That's good to hear, and how are working conditions for you?" Robert had never conducted an interview like this, one that seems like such a lie because no one knew his intentions and no one knew that the results of these interviews could affect the security of their job.

"They're really good, Mr. Crawley, the room you provide is lovely and I of course like the meals, though I may be a little bias." Ivy laughed nervously at that last part, desperately hoping Robert might join in.

Robert chuckled, "Yes, I suppose so, how are your co-workers? Do you all get along?"

"Oh yes! Everyone is really nice, I like to think I get on well with everyone too."

"I should hope so, is there anyone particularly good to work with or difficult to work with?"

Ivy pondered this for a moment, "Well, Daisy was quite helpful when I first started, she knew a lot about what she was doing. She got a little frustrated with me when I didn't know exactly what I was doing, but I can't blame her as she is so competent."

"Is there anyone else?"

Ivy reddened, "Well, Jimmy, the intern, he's really nice. He's always friendly and making jokes." She paused a moment before amending, "Not that's he's unprofessional or anything, he's quite good at his job actually. It's impressive."

Robert smiled, "That's great, Ivy thank you for talking to me, I hope it wasn't too intimidating."

"Oh no, Mr. Crawley," Ivy said getting up to leave. "Have a lovely evening."

"Yes, you too."

**  
O'Brien dumped her plate onto the pile of dirty plates, she had finished her mediocre meal of tacos and rice. Mrs. Patmore's cooking wasn't as good as everyone claimed it was in her opinion. O'Brien remembers when she first got here how every staff member droned on and on about how she would love the food, and maybe the staff food was incredible but her food never was.

O'Brien, personally, hated Downton. She knew it was necessary she be there and that was why she stayed but it didn't mean she liked it. Every staff member was patronizing despite the fact she was older and wiser than almost all of them and every patient avoided her like the plague.

O'Brien had been at Downton for seven months and she wasn't actually expected to leave anytime soon. She was here for an "indefinite amount of time" and O'Brien suspected that she may die in this god awful place.

What she hated most was the fact that she was alone. She had been alone since her brother had died but at least she still knew people then. Now, now she knows no one. And that kills her.

**  
"How'd the first interview go dear?" Cora asked pulling the covers over her. It was another late night for her and Robert, they had been up late running around trying to figure out a solution until about midnight and now, half an hour later, they finally got to go to bed after a very long day.

"Fine, fine, poor girl seemed rather nervous," Robert mused. He stifled a yawn and said, "Hope the others are as painless."

Cora pressed a quick kiss to his lips before turning over onto her side, "As do I, sweetheart, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

_Note: Thank you for all the kind words! They meant so much to me! Since the holidays are upon us I want to note that I may not get to post until January which is why I posted this chapter so soon, not all updates will be nearly this quick. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Have a wonderful holiday!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Note: Happy 2013! This is a filler chapter to be quite honest but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless because I don't think it's that bad. I hope to have the next chapter up relatively soon because I have the next week off to do some writing. Once more thank you for all the lovely feedback!_

Staff were required to wake up at five every morning, the moment they woke up they had about fifteen minutes to grab a cup of tea or coffee (the few who had considered that it may not be fair that staff gets caffeine while the patients do not never seemed to mention it when they were having their share of the glorious substance). After that they were off and the gong show most of them called their life began.

Kitchen staff were immediately preparing staff breakfast which was at six sharp, wards were running around setting up rooms and dealing with the general organization of the hospital, Cora, Isobel and Elsie all worked to figure out who had appointments with which doctor and when, Dr. Sybil and Dr. Carson usually met to confer about patients and Robert, well, Robert did a bit of everything and yet nothing at all but, it made all the staff feel at ease for whatever reason.

Staff breakfast, like all staff meals, were quick and to the point, they involved a little chatter (and by extension a little flirting because, apparently, Robert hired a bunch of hormonal teenagers as opposed to the twenty-somethings he thought he had). And once more they were off. Set-up continued for a little while but once seven fifteen hit it was time to wake the patients and the real fun began.

Isobel and Cora woke up the female patients, each taking two or three and going in alone. William and Thomas did the same thing with the men. The interns never tagged along for this part because, Isobel and Cora had (actually) agreed that it was best not to over-stimulate patients in the morning because, it had never garnered good results in the past.

"Good morning, Ms. O'Brien," Cora said gently rapping on the door of O'Brien's tiny room (that reminded the patient more a cell than a bedroom but she chose not to voice this concern, often). "It's time to get up now."

"Of course, Mrs. Crawley," O'Brien answered rolling out of bed. Cora had always like O'Brien, she felt if the circumstances were different they would have been quite good friends. O'Brien was always nice to her, yes she could have attitude problems at times but, hell, even Bates could have attitude problems at times. Cora never understood why O'Brien was the one who seemed to get cut the least amount of slack but she knew she couldn't really say anything without looking incredibly biased. So, instead she vowed simply not to favour anyone herself because, if nothing else, no one could say she was biased. "Give me a moment and I'll get dressed."

"Of course, O'Brien."

**  
Ethel was surprised when she was sat down by Nurse Isobel in one of the spare offices after breakfast, or she was for a moment and then she realized that of course she was here to reprimanded like usual.

"Now, Ethel, I hear you've been saying rather... inappropriate things to both your fellow patients and the staff here at Downton." Isobel began. "You've been... playing matchmaker so to speak."

"I don't think me prompting those two staffers or blondie and Bates to fuck is matchmaking but if that's how you insist on phrasing it then, fine." Ethel replied examining her nails. "Really, it was more out of me being sick and tired of watching their attempts at flirting. Honestly, it's like every romance in this place has to be long and drawn out. You both like eachother, so get together, it's simple really."

Isobel mulled this over for a moment, "I understand this may be...frustrating, I really do, but the language you were using was very inappropriate. You made all other parties involved quite uncomfortable. Would you like it if say, Anna, said something of that nature to you?"

Ethel let out a harsh laugh, "Anna would never say that, that's why she and Bates are still eye-fucking instead of actually fucking."

"Ethel! We refrain from using language like that here, you know that!" Isobel scolded. "The whole reason I wanted to have this chat was because you keep using terminology like that."

"There's nothing wrong with fucking," Ethel shrugged. "As long as everything's legal and out in the open I say do it. And I say call it what it is: fucking."

"How you treat sexuality is your business however, you are to refrain from cursing while you stay here at Downton."

"Of course, Nurse Isobel, may I go now?" Ethel said without any truth to her tone. She made a move for the door.

"Just, one more thing, Ethel," Isobel gestured the girl back to her seat. "I think you are a fine young lady Ethel, and I want to help you but, if you keep using language like that and talking to the staff the way you do certain measures may have to be taken. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Nurse Isobel."

**  
Gwen took her pills obediently, "Thank you."

William smiled at the easiness of the transaction, "Of course, Gwen, have a good morning."

"Thank you," Gwen muttered. "You too." Gwen had always liked William, he seemed like a sweet boy and Gwen suspected that if she wasn't so shy and she had worked at Downton rather than being a patient there they may have been friends. Because, no matter what Dr. Sybil may say, patients and staff members will never be that close.

**  
Tom loved Sybil, he really did. She was kind of his perfect woman with the exception of the whole she's his doctor thing...

Tom personally thought it was bullshit that they couldn't be together, he understood that it was "immoral" to "fraternize" with patients but really nobody was going to get hurt, and Sybil was much too good a person to prolong or shorten his stay due to personal reasons. Really, if Downton simply hired another doctor or even promoted someone Tom could see them instead of Sybil and there would be no reason for complications and everybody could be happy.

Alright, well, that's a little optimistic but nonetheless it would be brilliant if that's what happened. Tom had never really been an optimist so the fact that he was so optimistic about this relationship said either: he really cared about Sybil or he was more delusional than anyone had  
thought. He was really hoping for the former.

Lost in his train of thought he didn't realize that Matthew had come and sat next to him , "'Morning, Tom, how are you?"

"Good, good," Tom said. "Yourself?"

"'M fine, little bit tired, not used to the utter lack of comfort the beds here seem to offer," Matthew replied.

"Yeah, you never really get used to that," Tom said offering Matthew a reassuring knee pat.

"I was hoping that wasn't the case, I miss my bed and my nice sheets they were really, really soft," Matthew complained. Really, as far as ,missing the real world, the world outside of Downton it was more the creature comforts than it was the people. Yes, he loved his Mum and Pop but his bed was bloody brilliant. "Tom, might I ask, what's the deal with Mary? That is, what's she...like?"

"Hmm, well Mary is kind of, just a little, a complete and utter bitch," Tom answered smile on his face. "That is to say, I don't like her. At all. In fact, some might just say I hate her. I would be one of the people that say I hate her. Because, well, I hate her."

"Lovely," Matthew mused failing to hide a grin. "So, why is it you hate her anyways?"

"Look, I get she has her disorder and that causes her to have her lows and highs but, she's the one claiming we're all fucking batshit so why does she get away with it? I don't know, it's not as if she's ever actually done anything it's just that 'I'm better than you' attitude. I have bipolar too, but i never treat people the way she does," Tom explained, he certainly had not expected to give a rant on Mary today but it was a little therapeutic and given that his sessions with Sybil generally weren't about talking about patients. Though they actually did talk quite a lot, exchanging stories and discussing ambitions, he sometimes wondered if she was analyzing him while they talked but he tried to ignore that thought though, I mean he couldn't really be angry if she did, it was her job wasn't it?

"Right, she does strike me as a bit holier-than-thou at times, lots of times actually. She doesn't seem to like me much..."

"Oh, she doesn't like too many people," Tom said with the wave of his hand. "She does seem to always be nice to Anna, which is odd given how Anna can lack a certain... backbone at time, I figured she'd be a perfect target for Mary and her criticisms."

"She's an odd woman, isn't she? A little fascinating, in a way I almost want to get to know her simply to see what makes her tick."

"Good luck with that one," Tom muttered getting up. "See you at lunch."

"See you." Matthew, now alone was lost in thoughts of the brunette girl and her interesting take on the world, Tom was right when he said Mary thought she was better than everyone but, maybe, in a way, she was.

**  
"One last thing before I send you off to lunch," Sybil told Mary. "How are you getting along with the new patient, Matthew? I know we've discussed your aversion toward change in the past."

"Yes, well," Mary shifted in her seat. "He's fine I suppose, if you like that sort of thing."

"What sort of thing?" Sybil asked.

"Oh, you know, the whole 'someone-just-kicked-my-puppy-so-feel-sorry-for-me' schtick, he always seems so... whiny and yet, he somehow manages to be obscenely smug." Mary explained.

"When has he actually done this? I didn't realize you two talked much," Sybil prompted.

"Oh, we don't," replied Mary with a wave of her hand. "I just get this... feeling, you know? He gives off an air of... je ne sais quoi."

"Interesting," Sybil mused. "Well, I say, you may want to get to know him before you judge him. Don't judge a book by it's cover."

"I suppose, it's just, I don't really want to put the effort in to get to know someone who I may never see once this ordeal is over."

"Well, I still think you should try."

"Maybe."

**  
William gave Isis a little rub on the head as he followed Robert into his office, "I didn't realize you had a dog, sir."

"Oh, yes, Isis is a good girl, I've had her for years now, I love the old girl," Robert replied gesturing for William to sit. "So, William, before begin I want to preface the interview by saying you did nothing wrong, everyone is being interviewed and it is simply to check in."

William nodded, "You had me worried, sir, I thought I was getting fired."

'Not yet, but if Mother has it her way you very well may be.' Robert thought. "No, no nothing like that, I just wanted to see how you are."

"I'm good, I love the job," William replied with a smile.

"Good to hear, I always hope people like working for me, don't want to be the stereotypical tyrant one sees in the movies," Robert replied cracking his knuckles out of nervous habit. "And how is your relationship with your co-workers?"

"Good, everyone's quite nice, I get to work with a lot of people to which is always nice, meeting new people and all."

"Good, good, and do you feel you ever have too much work? Or even too little?"

"Not at all, sir, Thomas and I are both always busy but I know I never feel overworked," William answered trying to be as amiable as possible.

"Right, so, do you and Thomas get along well?"

"Well, I mean, we really, kind of, have to when it comes down to it," William answered. "That is, we share a lot of the same tasks so we get used to each other. But, I mean, I wouldn't exactly say we're close, sir." No, William would never say that as he and Thomas had never been, at all, fond of each other, Thomas in fact choosing to pick on William at times however, William, always the good person, didn't tell that to Robert.

"Well, I can't expect you to be, as long as you don't go getting into fist fights I suppose that's fine," Robert replied noting what William just said. Maybe he'd interview Thomas next. "What about the rest of the staff? I know you have to deal with the interns a lot but, what about people like Mrs. Hughes or the kitchen staff?"

"Everyone's mighty nice, the interns are always willing to listen, I find. Mrs. Hughes is a kind woman as is Nurse Isobel and, of course, Nurse Cora and the kitchen staff is fantastic. I find if I do have a moment to myself I enjoy spending it down in the cafeteria having a chat with Daisy, if she isn't working that is."

"Well, I suppose that's all I need, William, m'boy, thank you for chatting with me."

"Of course, sir."

**  
"William?" Daisy sat down next to the blonde haired boy with a plate of lunch in her hand, the staff had yet to be served but because it was Daisy's turn to clean up the kitchen after lunch Mrs. Patmore let her eat in between staff and patient lunches. "Why, if you don't mind my asking, is Mr. Crawley interviewing people? I just know that Ivy's already gone and now you have so I can only assume you weren't in trouble."

"Oh no," William said smiling a little, it may be silly but he was quite delighted that Daisy didn't think he was in trouble, it's just that must mean she thinks at least a little highly of him, and that's lovely. "He said he was just checking in and apparently was going to do it with everyone, I'm not entirely sure why he chose the order he did though, I mean, it would be easier to do it alphabetically I imagine."

"I suppose so, it would guarantee I was going near last to, that's always nice."

"I wouldn't worry, Daisy, you'll do fantastic plus he only asked if I liked working there and if I liked my co-workers and all I had to do was say 'yes'," William replied patting Daisy on the shoulder. "It's not as if he's planning on firing anyone."

**  
"Somebody's getting fired," Jimmy announced walking up to Thomas who was smoking once more.

Jimmy could see Thomas' ears perk up at his statement but he still replied calmly, "Is that so?"

"It seems so, yes, he's interviewing everyone and really it couldn't just be for fun," Jimmy responded settling into the familiarity of standing outside with Thomas and watching him smoke. He had, to be quite honest, felt rather awkward after the lovely little outburst Ethel had had when they had played Clue. What are you supposed to say to someone after that happens? So, he was quite grateful go back to routine, he liked spending time with Thomas, he certainly didn't want that to change.

"No, I suspect it is for a reason, it probably is for the purpose of evaluation and it may be evaluating us to know who he can cut, who has he talked to so far? I haven't really noticed."

"Well, I heard William talking about so he's gone and Ivy was telling me how terrifying her interview was earlier," Jimmy answered recalling his conversation with Ivy, she did that alot, corner him and talk to him. He supposed it was flattering in a sense, she seemed to like him alot, he just didn't reciprocate and he didn't really want to hurt her feelings. Though, he found it can be useful to have someone fawning over you, much easier to get them to do stuff for you and whatnot. Not that he could be that much of a manipulative bastard, nope, never.

"Interesting," Thomas muttered. "He seems to be picking people with no rhyme nor reason, can't really anticipate when you'll get called in."

"Right," Jimmy agreed, he found that was the best thing to do when Thomas got thinking like that. "So, are you nervous, then?"

"No," Thomas lied. He was a little nervous, if they were firing people he could very well go, he wasn't as liked as William, clearly, so if they wanted to get it down to one ward he'd probably be the one to go, even if he was a better worker than William, it was all social politics in a place like this. "Not really."

Both men jumped when they heard a throat clear behind them, there was Robert standing behind them, "Sorry to interrupt, but I knew Thomas had a break so I was wondering if I might chat with him."

"Of course, Mr. Crawley," Thomas said with a curt nod.

**  
"Hello, Dr. Carson," Sybil chirped happily, more than anything she was excited she got to eat lunch on time today, it had been a good long while since Cora hadn't had to bring her lunch to eat in her office. "How are you today?"

"Oh, I'm good, thank you," Carson responded taking a bite of his turkey sandwich. "How are you?"

"I'm excellent, actually, I quite excited to eat lunch with everyone too, normally I'm holed up in my office around this time and Nurse Cora ends up bringing me something. I was beginning to know how Elsie felt, working through lunch," Sybil chuckled at her own joke. "How is she? I haven't chatted with her in a long time and I know you two get along quite well."

"Mrs. - Er, Elsie is good, I'll bring by her lunch after I finish eating," Carson answered. He had always liked Dr. Sybil he still remembered when she had been an intern and she would corner him at least once a day to grill him on what it was like being a doctor, he wasn't even in the same field of medicine she wanted to be in but she was still fascinated. It was refreshing. He respected that a young person could have so much interest in academics, he was also pleasantly surprised to see how polite and responsible Dr. Sybil was. Carson was more than happy to have her as a colleague. A professional like her.

"That's so kind of you," Sybil smiled. Dr. Carson had always been so sweet to the receptionist, sometimes she thought he may have... ulterior motives of the romantic persuasion, sometimes she really hoped so. Downton needed a solid romantic relationship instead of the craziness the younger staff (...herself included...) offered romantically. "I imagine she appreciates it."

"It isn't trouble," Carson replied. "Elsie's on my way, and she's a nice woman, I don't mind."

Because you love her...Sybil thought, she hated to play matchmaker and whatnot, something her mother was infamous for but Carson and Elsie were perfect for eachother! And the more she thought about it the more true it seemed, maybe she'd have to do something. She could probably get Beryl and Cora to help her... "Well, I still think it's sweet given you don't have to do it."

"It's quite nice really, I enjoy chatting with her," Carson responded. He was curious why Dr. Sybil was taking such interest in him taking Elsie lunch, he was just being friendly. Honest. "Speaking of I should probably go and give Elsie her food."

Sybil watched as Carson grabbed a plate from Beryl and headed out of the cafeteria. He must love, even if it isn't romantic, he clearly loves her. But, let's be clear, it is romantic, Sybil thought to herself. Saddened by the fact Carson wasn't there to chat with anymore she looked around for someone to chat with, William was talking to Daisy, Beryl was in the kitchen cleaning up, Alfred was awkwardly flirting with Ivy (it was really, really awkward, Sybil almost wanted to save him or her) and the rest of the staff were working. Fortunately for her Jimmy chose that moment to walk in so Sybil, on a whim, decided she would wave him over. She barely talked to the young intern, always opting for the older staff or, due to her job, the patients.

"Hello, Jimmy, how are you?" Sybil greeted with a smile, she always said good relationships with your co-workers were important and she only had a bit of paperwork and some prepping for tomorrow's group therapy.

"Fine," Jimmy said taking a seat. "Yourself?"

"I'm quite good, I had all my appointments this morning which means all I have is a little paperwork this afternoon, it's been awhile since that happened," Sybil answered. "Any reason you're just fine?" I just treated him like a patient didn't I? Sybil thought to herself. It was a natural response for her, especially after an appointment, and Jimmy seemed a little troubled so it was a natural response really.

"No," Jimmy shrugged. He figured the young doctor was psychoanalyzing him or something like that, it wasn't appreciated but given that somebody would possibly be getting fired he should probably be kind to his superiors. "Just fine, not as if anything exciting has happened today."

"Ah, yes, I suppose I have those days a lot." Especially if Tom doesn't have an appointment... Thought the part of Sybil's brain that continually stopped her from ending things with Tom. She shook that thought from her head and focused back on her conversation.

"What was that?" Jimmy asked quirking an eyebrow.

"What was what?"

"You shook your head, just a moment ago."

Shit thought Sybil Alright, well, just explain yourself calmly and rationally... "No, I didn't." She responded stubbornly.

Jimmy's brow furrowed slightly, "Yes you did, I saw it."

Well, you really screwed that up, may as well keep with the denial, I suppose "No, I didn't, Jimmy, why would I do that?"

"I don't know..." Jimmy said slowly. "That's why I asked."

"You must have imagined it, because I am sure I didn't," Sybil replied. God, why did I not just say I was lost in thought or something? Good God... do I just despise myself or something? "Are you feeling alright? Shall I call Dr. Carson."

"I'm fine, I suppose I must have imagined it," Jimmy admitted knowing he wasn't going to win this. "Just an odd thing to imagine is all."

"And you're sure you're fine?" Sybil asked. God! Just change the subject, don't bloody ask about it! Honestly...

"Yes, yes, must have been a trick of the light or something."

"I suppose it was..." Sybil trailed off. "Well, enough of that, there must be something else we can discuss." What did she really know about Jimmy though? He was an intern, (No one wants to talk about work over lunch, not really, do they?) Ivy had a crush on him (Because that is clearly a conversation topic) and apparently Ethel thinks him and Thomas should get together (I should probably talk to Anna about that whole incident... I can't imagine what would happen if someone said that to me. Though who would they be talking about, Tom? Not as if anyone knows about that. I certainly hope not...) "So, um... how's Thomas?" Really, really Sybil, that's what we're going with? Really? Good God, are you just opposed to good decisions? Sybil thought to herself, she wasn't always so hard on herself, but, really, after this series of decisions it seems necessary.

"Good, I imagine," Jimmy said sounding a little confused. "Why do you ask?"

Yes, why do I ask? "Just... just wondering, I haven't seen him in awhile and I imagine you being an intern and him being a ward you obviously have to spend time together and also, I'm pretty sure you're friends so I thought I'd ask," Sybil smiled, perhaps a little maniacally but it was hopefully friendly looking.

Jimmy paused a moment, "Right. So, I'm not seeing Thomas, not like that. I can only assume this is what you're getting at after the other nights... incident."

Sybil reddened, "Well, I mean, no, or, rather, maybe... sorry. Just so you know, it's fine if you are, I mean, like, work relationships are difficult, but, you know, be my guest."

"Alright, Dr. Sybil, I suppose I will keep that in mind," Jimmy said with a tight lipped smile.

After that... loveliness the two quickly fell into an-anything-but-comfortable-silence.

**  
Alfred liked working at Downton, he did... usually. He knew what he was getting into when he applied for the position, Robert had warned him that the job could get rather intense at times and Alfred was prepared for that. Yes, some of the patients frightened him a little (...mainly just Mary) but he survived.

There was, however, one slight problem.

He didn't want to work at a hospital. So... maybe that isn't, exactly, slight but it was definitely a problem. Alfred actually wanted to cook, to be perfectly honest, he had always loved it as a kid and wanted to make his loving from that. But, his mother had different ideas, she wanted him to be a doctor because that would pay better and he would be more successful and so when he applied for a job at Downton it wasn't in the kitchen like he had wanted but rather he applied for an internship so he could eventually become a ward and even a doctor later.

Alfred appreciated that his mother wanted the best for him, he really did but that didn't mean that he couldn't help but stare longingly at the kitchens from time to time (and not just because Ivy was in there).

**  
Cora cherished the moments she got alone with Robert, yes they had the time before they went to sleep to chat but it seemed so rare they got to spend time together during the day unless they were in a meeting. So, moments like this, where she and Robert were just sitting and chatting over a cuppa because they both had a spare moment were wonderful.

"How'd the interviews go this time, dear?" Cora asked.

Robert sighed, "Good, I hate that though, how am I supposed to fire anyone if I like them?"

"You'll figure it out, sweetheart."

"I certainly hope so."


End file.
